By STAFF
Cambria Community Services District Fire Chief Michael Burkey, along with General Manager Matthew McElhenie and North Coast Advisory Council Chairwoman Christina Galloway, held a meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, to begin what will be the first of several training sessions for persons volunteering to be community liaisons for their neighborhoods. Sign-ups for this voluntary bridge program between neighbours and emergency officials occurred during a series of neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Meetings held in April. Both the recent meeting and the April meetings were held at the Veterans Memorial Hall.
Chief Burkey emphasized that the program is entirely voluntary, and the tasks taken on by the liaisons may vary from person to person and amongst the several neighborhoods in town. The emphasis of the program will be on connecting with people living in the same neighborhood and helping to communicate important information.
Some ideas discussed are encouraging neighbors to prepare go bags and disaster supply “stay” kits; discussing transportation coordination; and establishing an email chain or phone tree for participants to receive and share vital information.
It is imperative that every community member knows how to find their evacuation zone (this writer found out that her evacuation zone is CMB—007), display it in an obvious place, such as on the refrigerator, and be sure that they are signed up to receive emergency notifications.
Sign up to find your evacuation zone here: READYSLO.org. Click on Prepare and scroll down to Find My Evacuation Zone, where you will enter your address.
On that same page, directly to the right of the map, click on Reverse 911. Why? As of October 2023, the Sheriff’s Department is using a new system. It is recommended that you re-register with the new system even if you were registered previously.
In the coming months, this column will publish more fire safety information. the cambriaca is published on the first and third Thursdays of the month, and the current issue is always available at: cambriaca.org.
If you are interested in becoming a neighborhood liaison or assisting with community outreach, contact Cambria CSD Fire Chief Michael Burkey at: mburkey@cambriacsd.org.
